ROUND 11 MATCH REPORT | North Queensland Cowboys 12-24 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles

Andrew Pelechaty reviews the North Queensland Cowboys hosting Manly in the early Friday match. Here’s how the game went.

MATCH TIMELINE

MATCH SUMMARY

1st Half

Manly dominated the opening six minutes in Townsville and were rewarded when Curtis Sironen cut back against the grain and barged over close to the line. Reuben Garrick’s conversion gave the Sea Eagles an early 6-0 lead.

Manly extended their lead 19 minutes later – after a Cowboys error – with Danny Levi burrowing over from dummy half for a 12-0 lead.

Jack Gosiewski, still with his late-nineties Slim Shady hairdo, looked to have scored Manly’s third try, but was held up over the line. It was a great display by a Cowboys defence that has been leaking points recently, including a combined 82 against Parramatta and the Sydney Roosters in rounds eight and nine.

It proved to be a crucial save, with Kyle Feldt catching a cross-field kick from Jake Clifford to keep the Cowboys in the game. Feldt also converted to turn Manly’s possible 18-0 lead into a more manageable 12-6 deficit, which made interim coach Josh Hannay very happy.

Daly Cherry-Evans shanked a late field goal attempt as Manly kept their 12-6 lead at halftime.

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2nd Half

The Cowboys gained some momentum early in the second half, with Gavin Cooper going very close to scoring, but was held up. A Manly knock-on on the last tackle gave the Cowboys possession again, but they blew it with with an errant pass as they shifted to the left wing.

The Cowboys had another chance a few minutes later, breaking towards Manly’s tryline, but poor handling let them down. The error was compounded when Manly got a piggyback penalty to enter attacking territory. The Cowboys earned a reprieve when a Cherry-Evans grubber into the in-goal went dead. Again the Cowboys were unable to capitalise.

Manly looked to finally break through with a Cherry-Evans try off a Cade Cust break; DCE appeared to be held up by Feldt, but did enough to score. Garrick’s conversation gave Manly an 18-6 lead.

After Coen Hess bombed a certain try for the Cowboys, Manly seemed to put the game away seven minutes later when Cust took on the line, giving them a 24-6 lead.

The Cowboys gave themselves a sniff a minute later when Francis Molo scored off a set restart, putting the Cowboys within two tries.

Manly briefly entered the top eight with their sixth win of the season. The Cowboys had another “honourable” loss, and are sitting just outside the bottom four.

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GAME HIGHLIGHT

Trailing 12-6 at halftime, the Cowboys worked hard to draw level in the second half, with Gavin Cooper held up and a couple of try-scoring chances bombed. Manly finally capitalised on the Cowboys’ errors when Daly Cherry-Evans scored. Kyle Feldt did his best to hold his fellow Queenslander up, but DCE did enough to plant the ball down for a 12-point lead.

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SQUADS

North Queensland Cowboys: 1. Hamiso Tabuai-Fodow 2. Kyle Feldt 18. Murray Taulagi 14. Mitchell Dunn 5. Justin O’Neill 6. Daejarn Asi 7. Jake Clifford 8. Josh McGuire 9. Reece Robson 10. Francis Molo 11. Shane Wright 12. Coen Hess 13. Jason Taumalolo. Interchange: 15. Tom Gilbert 16. Gavin Cooper 17. Reuben Cotter 19. Ben Hampton.

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles: 1. Brendan Elliott 2. Jorge Taufua 3. Brad Parker 4. Moses Suli 5. Reuben Garrick 6. Cade Cust 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Danny Levi 10. Martin Taupau 11. Joel Thompson 12. Curtis Sironen 13. Jake Trbojevic. Interchange: 14. Lachlan Croker 15. Jack Gosiewski 17. Taniela Paseka 18. Corey Waddell.